World Cafe Live is now a nonprofit organization

There is a new social enterprise dedicated to live music performances, education, and engagement in the City of Brotherly Love.

According to a release, World Cafe Live (WCL) has announced a bold transition from a for-profit venue to a nonprofit entity devoted to supporting live music, music education and community engagement in Philadelphia. The well-established independent venue is combining with its nonprofit partner LiveConnections to launch a new chapter that will further empower World Cafe Live both to achieve its goal of providing accessible live music for all and to offer an even more dynamic depth and breadth of programming.

The two new partners will move forward under the known title, World Cafe Live. Their mission will be funded through funds from grants and donations, as well as proceeds from sale of tickets, food and drink, and special events.

“This transition is the natural evolution for these two essential players in the Philadelphia music scene,” says World Cafe Live Founder and President Hal Real, who also co-founded LiveConnections in a release. “By making World Cafe Live a nonprofit, we’ll be able to invest even more in bringing great, diverse live music to the city, and in creating community-engaged programming that ensures that youth, people with disabilities, and all kinds of music-lovers have access to incredible music.”

The popular venue located in West Philadelphia will still operate normally as before and offer world-class concerts (in the past Adele, Brandi Carlile, Alabama Shakes, Kamasi Washington, and 5-time 2020 Grammy winner Billie Eilish have been among who have performed on WCL’s stage), a full-service restaurant and bar and special events.

According to the release, Real and his team believe now more than ever in the importance of sustaining independent venues in the Philadelphia music scene and beyond. They plan to provide leadership in establishing a community of independent music venues in a live music industry that is dominated by a few international corporations. This initiative will start locally with plans to expand nationally, as the need to nurture independent voices in the global music system is becoming more urgent.

“Music is a vital part of our city,” Real added in the release, “and World Cafe Live is committed to the importance of investing in independent music made by and for all Philadelphians.”